Dallas City Council member Dwaine Caraway discussed his proposal to ban disposable bags at City Hall on Monday.

Grocers, manufacturers and environmentalists clashed Monday over a budding Dallas effort to outlaw common plastic and paper bags.

The debate centered on City Council member Dwaine Caraway’s anti-litter proposal that would ban retailers from providing thin, single-use plastic bags and paper sacks unless they contain a certain amount of recycled material.

Caraway, who pitched his idea before two council committees, said the city is being overrun by trash that mucks up public space.

He said the way to curb that is to target the source: the bag. “We can pay today or we can pay tomorrow,” he said.

The committees, which did not take public testimony, sent the measure to the full council for action in August. If it’s approved, Dallas would be the largest city in Texas with a bag ban, which would include some exemptions.

Gary Huddleston, director of consumer affairs with Kroger grocery stores in Texas, attended the meetings and said later that the proposal is too restrictive.

“We believe that the customer deserves a choice,” he said.

He said Kroger stores give out “numerous reusable bags” and have promoted recycling through signage and recycling bins. In the past year, Kroger has recycled more than 2 million pounds of plastic through these collection bins, he said.

But Zac Trahan, program director with the Texas Campaign for the Environment, an advocacy group, welcomed the ban.

He said it would mean less garbage and less litter harming wildlife — along with helping to shatter the throwaway culture.

“This is a long time coming,” said Trahan, who also attended the City Hall sessions.

“We have bags in the streets, bags in the water, bags in the trees. It’s an environmental problem,” Camp said.

In an interview after the meetings, Mark Daniels, chairman of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, a trade organization representing plastic bag manufacturers, said he opposed the ban.

He said it not only would risk industry jobs — Hilex Poly, a plastic bag manufacturer employs more than 200 people in the Dallas area — but he also labeled the ban regressive.

“Those that can least afford it are the ones that are going to be paying the highest price for this,” he said. “They’re going to have to buy plastic trash bags instead of using the complimentary trash bags.”

Daniels said he’s invited Caraway to tour a recycling plant Tuesday in Carrollton. “What we can do as a public-private partnership with the city is to increase recycling … [and make] people aware that littering is poor behavior,” Daniels said.

Council member Sandy Greyson, vice chairwoman of the Quality of Life and Government Services Committee, said she favors finding a way to reduce litter but said consumers probably should be asked to pay for single-use bags.

“I rather liked the idea … if you want a single-use bag you can pay for it,” she said. “You can pay a nickel or a dime or whatever and then that money would go toward cleanup programs.”

She said she doesn’t know what the full council will do but said members are “open-minded about it.”

Caraway predicted the bag ordinance would pass. And he said consumers should not have to pay extra for reusable bags.

His ordinance is based on a ban that Austin imposed three months ago. The Texas Retailers Association has sued to overturn it.

Austin officials have expressed confidence in the measure. A judge has not yet ruled.

— Allow businesses to provide or sell reusable carryout bags. That includes washable cloth, fabric or woven bags; recyclable plastic bags that are at least 0.004 inches in thickness; and paper bags with at least 40 percent recycled content when the rule takes effect. It would require that paper bags have at least 80 percent recycled content a year later.

— Require signs at retail stores reminding shoppers to bring their own reusable bags to carry home purchases.